Why The Lg C5 Oled At $1,000 Off Is Still My Favorite Tv Deal For Prime Day

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

The LG C5 OLED boosts dazzling brightness and color.
It features an ultra-slim body, pinch worldly choices that evoke premium.
It's priced comparatively precocious for nan nominal upgrades complete past year's model.

Major retailers person discounted LG's latest C5 OLED TV as overmuch arsenic $1,000 disconnected depending connected which size you buy.

I would reason that nan astir important facet of immoderate tv group is its image quality. Never mind its smart capabilities, marque prestige, aliases super-high refresh rate. For quality beings, astatine first glimpse anyway, nan ocular stimulus overrides each else.

This is why erstwhile you locomotion into Costco, you are arrested by nan exquisite images flashing connected a bunch of big-screen TVs group to "Retail Mode," peacocking their 4K beauty. First impressions are ever based connected appearance.

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By that criterion unsocial -- image value -- LG's 2025 C5 OLED ranks among nan best OLED TVs you tin bargain today. That sounds for illustration a matter-of-fact statement, but I guidelines down it because arsenic soon arsenic I fired up our reappraisal portion for testing, I knew it was a win. It's that bully this year.

The C5 has a unsocial building and a futuristic aesthetic. For 1 thing, it has 1 of nan thinnest screens I've ever seen -- astatine a specified 0.25 inches thick. When lifting it retired of nan box, my workfellow and I were wary of handling nan edges of nan surface because they seemed truthful delicate. The little conception of nan sheet is much substantial, thing to drawback onto while mounting it up.

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It's arsenic if LG's engineers were shooting for "more screen, little panel" successful this year's design, an perspective they pulled disconnected successfully. It's almost 4 times thinner than nan trendy Frame TVs connected nan market, but that only accounts for astir two-thirds of nan screen's aboveground area.

I'd for illustration to springiness a shout-out to whoever designed nan packaging for this model. When you unfastened nan cardboard container top, you instantly find nan distant power successful its ain small sleeve, pinch batteries preinstalled. The guidelines sheet (stand) and each its components are successful different styrofoam box, which makes it easy to propulsion retired and get going. (These are things you announcement erstwhile you unbox a fewer excessively galore 65-inch TVs.)

Other good specifications separate nan C5, specified arsenic nan achromatic marble shape connected nan backmost of nan screen, and mini quadrate silicone pads connected nan bottommost of nan guidelines sheet that forestall nan TV from scooting.

LG is simply a pioneer successful OLED technology, truthful we tin expect each loop it produces to amended connected nan last. While nan C5's image value unsocial is simply a testament to LG's continuing pursuit of perfection, a number of hardware upgrades relationship for this year's progress.

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There's nan Alpha 9 Gen 8 processor, responsible for a heavy database of AI features. Everything from AI Super Upscaling -- which enhances nan value of lower-resolution contented to look much for illustration 4K for streaming services -- to AI-assisted Deep Learning, which analyzes and learns your viewing preferences to optimize image and sound settings conscionable for you.

I besides tested AI Concierge, which pays attraction to your viewing preferences and contented to supply suggestions for your adjacent binge-worthy show. These features aren't reasons to upgrade to nan latest models per se, but they're a measurement successful nan correct guidance successful position of AI devices astir consumers tin make usage of.

While I'm admittedly enamored pinch nan C5's default visuals, it besides comes pinch a big of features that make calibrating your viewing acquisition ideal. Right away, it offers 2 options for mounting up: utilizing your telephone aliases nan remote. Opting for your telephone requires downloading nan LG ThinQ app. I did this, and it made life easier, initially asking if your TV is resting connected a guidelines aliases wall-mounted, which might(?) impact performance.

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Humorously, successful consequence to my ThinQ commands, nan TV responded pinch a female sound that was speaking ace fast, arsenic if reference nan disclaimer astatine nan extremity of a Micro Machines commercial. That's okay, though, because it made nan process spell by quicker.

Then nan C5 invites you to move connected definite AI functions for illustration AI Picture Pro. This conception shows a little video clip of a babe (doing babe things) pinch a left-to-right surface sweep. This real-time upscaling objection impressed maine truthful overmuch that I enabled nan characteristic (which tin beryllium turned disconnected anytime).

How's nan ocular performance?

The LG C5, though a measurement down from nan company's real flagship, nan G5, tested for a ocular acquisition that was precocious up connected our capacity list.
Besides putting TVs done various systematized calibrations and accent tests astatine nan ZDNET lab, I trial TV capacity by scrutinizing definite movie scenes pinch demanding visuals, for illustration "Avengers: Endgame," pinch its explosive conflict scenes and CGI spectacle.

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From nan darkest moments (like Tony Stark's soliloquy astatine nan beginning) to nan infinitesimal Thanos snaps his fingers, nan LG C5 OLED delivers an image value surpassing my expectations. Colors are stunningly vibrant, nan opposition is axenic and precise, and nan image specifications are spookily definite.

Even erstwhile nan C5 is astatine rest, it manages to impress. With its "Always Ready" function, nan TV's mobility sensor displays wallpaper aliases mobility graphics successful consequence to activity successful nan room. That's wherever I noticed nan true-black quality of this OLED, which adds an constituent of extent that approaches 3D, arsenic if you tin scope down nan silent, sparkling fireworks exploding on-screen waiting for your interaction.

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I wasn't arsenic keen connected LG's AI Sound Pro tuning, truthful I kept that turned disconnected contempt it making nan TV louder. The characteristic took nan sample euphony from inheritance to foreground, perchance doubling successful decibels but not quality. It was overmuch much tinny and precocious connected treble, though adding a soundbar could easy remedy this.

I stress turning immoderate Energy Saver modes disconnected to bask nan champion imaginable HDR brightness. Energy-saving modes connected AI smart TVs are gimmicky and impractical because they "save" only a modicum of energy usage, impacting nan C5's capacity successful a agleam room. In various lighting conditions, I recovered nan ISF Expert Bright Room mounting to beryllium best.

About nan Magic Remote

LG still uses its Magic Remote characteristic to navigate nan UX, which I've ne'er been a large instrumentality of; I don't bask emotion for illustration I'm utilizing a Wii controller to alteration settings. Thankfully, nan cursor portion of navigating pinch nan Magic Remote is now an optional characteristic (invoked and commanded by nan instrumentality button) alternatively than nan sole intends for selecting items. You tin besides usage nan directional pad for navigation.

Notably, nan distant lacks a very important fastener connected immoderate distant -- nan Mute button. Streamlined to nan Nth degree, nan near rocker move doubles arsenic Mute erstwhile you propulsion it downward, and you must clasp down nan measurement rocker for virtually 2 seconds for nan TV to spell silent. Further -- and this mightiness beryllium peevish of maine -- I find it disappointing whenever a caller TV's distant is not backlit. All remotes should person illuminated buttons for accessibility's sake. (And a immense Mute button.)

ZDNET's buying advice

The LG C5 OLED is an exemplary TV that is rather nan looker -- whether nan surface is turned connected aliases off. At astir $1,797 (on waste astatine nan clip of writing), nan 65-inch C5 features upgrades from its predecessor that are par for nan course, but not needfully game-changing. For instance, trial measurements of nan C5 only somewhat transcend nan 2024 C4 bid portion (such arsenic a marginal summation of nits for brightness).

Similarly, nan C5 doesn't measurement up complete nan C4 regarding its refresh rate, which continues to max retired astatine 144Hz alternatively of 165Hz for illustration we're seeing connected immoderate higher-end (and competing) models. Until that value tag drops, you'll beryllium conscionable arsenic good disconnected picking up a C4 series portion for half nan value of nan C5.

This article was primitively published connected April 29, 2025, and was updated connected July 6, 2025.